Brilliance 87 · Fire 75 · Scintillation 60 · in our census, where the T73 scores 98 · 69 · 80 in zircon
How the DG-Octagonal Kite handles light in zircon, measured: brilliance 87, fire 75 and 12% leakage, set against the T73 in the same stone and against the same cut in diamond.
Zircon has a refractive index of 1.925 to 1.984 and a dispersion of 0.039. Its critical angle, from the low end of that range, is 31.3°, so a round design needs a pavilion of at least 37.2° for head-on light to reflect off both sides of the pavilion and leave through the table. We trace it with one index, 1.955, the midpoint of the published range, and a fire spread of 0.034, 0.86 of the published dispersion. Every picture here is our Light Return tracer at 1.925, and every figure is from the same light census that scores the other gemstones; the 3D Gemstone Simulator shows the DG-Octagonal Kite in zircon live. Zircon is strongly doubly refractive (birefringence up to 0.059), so its back facets can look doubled. Our census traces one index (1.955), so the doubling is not in these figures.
The DG-Octagonal Kite has 41 facets, a table of 55.0% of its width and a total depth of 70.0% of its width; its pavilion mains sit at 43.0°. In zircon, the census returns 87 of 100 for brilliance and 75 for fire, against 98 and 69 for the T73, our benchmark, in the same stone; the same DG-Octagonal Kite in diamond reads 88 and 82.
No figure ahead by our thresholds
Compared with the T73 Round Brilliant in zircon and with the DG-Octagonal Kite in diamond. A difference counts from 3 points (Brilliance, Fire, Tilt, Leakage), 5 (Scintillation, Symmetry), 4% (face-up size per carat) or 5% (weight); Tilt counts as a pro only for a stone within 5 points of the brilliance it is compared with. How we measure.
At a glance: the DG-Octagonal Kite in zircon (white) against the T73 Round Brilliant in zircon (dashed): solid white where it reaches further, hatched where it falls short. Each pro and con is explained, with pictures, below.
Against the T73 Round Brilliant in zircon: ahead on 2, level on 1, behind on 5.
Against the T73 in zircon and the same cut in diamond, no figure of the DG-Octagonal Kite is ahead by the thresholds above. Its figures are in the wheel and the FAQ; Zircon ranks every cut we score in zircon.
1.65 ct at 6.5 mm, against 1.25 ct for the same cut in diamond (+33%)
Weight follows specific gravity: 4.665 for zircon against 3.52 for diamond, so the same model at the same size weighs 1.65 ct here and 1.25 ct in diamond, 6.5 mm across. Nothing about the light changes with it.
Try it yourself: Weights in every gemstone on the DG-Octagonal Kite page
Scintillation 60 against 80 for the T73 Round Brilliant in zircon: 20 points lower
Scintillation follows the number of facets the stone shows: 100 × (1 − e^(−facets / 45)). The DG-Octagonal Kite has 41 facets and the T73 73, so 60 against 80. It depends on the geometry alone, so it is the same in every stone.
DG-Octagonal Kite · 41 facets · Scintillation 60
T73 Round Brilliant · 73 facets · Scintillation 80
What helps: the DG-Miliano reads 98 for scintillation in zircon, the best of the cuts we score there.
Try it yourself: Compare the Scintillation spoke in the Cut Performance Wheel
Brilliance 87 against 98 for the T73 Round Brilliant in zircon: 11 points lower
Brilliance is the share of the 3,200 census rays that enter the stone and come back out of the crown towards the viewer. In zircon, whose critical angle is 31.3°, the DG-Octagonal Kite returns 87 of 100 and the T73 98. The DG-Octagonal Kite's pavilion mains sit at 43.0°, the T73's at 40.8°. The maps below show where each stone's light returns from and where it leaks.
DG-Octagonal Kite in zircon · Brilliance 87
T73 Round Brilliant in zircon · Brilliance 98
What helps: the DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows reads 98 for brilliance in zircon, the best of the cuts we score there.
Try it yourself: Open this Light Return map in the simulator
Leakage 12 against 2 for the T73 Round Brilliant in zircon: 10 points higher
Leakage is the share of the census rays that enter the stone and leave through the pavilion, or through the crown heading down. The DG-Octagonal Kite leaks 12% in zircon against 2% for the T73 in zircon. Grey in the maps below is leaking light; the share under each picture is that picture's own.
DG-Octagonal Kite in zircon · Leakage 12
T73 Round Brilliant in zircon · Leakage 2
What helps: the DG-Broken Hearts and Arrows reads 2% for leakage in zircon, the best of the cuts we score there.
Try it yourself: Tilt it yourself in the simulator's light map
Against the T73 in zircon and the same cut in diamond, no figure of the DG-Octagonal Kite is ahead by our thresholds. The catch: it weighs more than in diamond, has fewer facets to sparkle with, returns less light than the T73 and leaks more light than the T73.
If that catch matters more to you, the DG-Miliano reads 98 for scintillation in zircon, the best of the cuts we score there.
Every figure on this page is from our light census, traced at one refractive index: a simulation of the geometry, not a grading report. The 3D files and cutting files below are the same DG-Octagonal Kite model we traced.
In our census the DG-Octagonal Kite returns 87 of 100 for brilliance and 75 for fire in zircon, against 98 and 69 for the T73 in the same stone. Against that round and against the same cut in diamond it has 0 pros and 4 cons by our thresholds; the summary above names them.
At least 37.2° for a round design: zircon's critical angle is 31.3°, from the low end of its refractive index range, and head-on light has to reflect off both sides of the pavilion and leave through the table. The DG-Octagonal Kite's pavilion mains sit at 43.0°.
At 6.5 mm across, 1.65 ct in zircon, against 1.25 ct for the same cut in diamond (+33%): zircon's specific gravity is 4.665, diamond's 3.52.
Yes: the 3D Gemstone Simulator renders it live, with zircon's own refractive index and dispersion. Zircon is traced by the same light census as the other gemstones, with its refractive index and fire spread derived from published values, so its scores are on the same scale; the pictures here are our Light Return tracer, and the Cut Performance Wheel sets it against any other cut and stone.
The DG-Octagonal Kite Cut as exact geometry: 41 planar facets, real-world scale, ready for CAD, rendering, printing and casting.
The DG-Octagonal Kite Cut as a faceting design: 33 + 8 girdles = 41 facets, 96 index, 8-fold mirror-image symmetry, ready for the machine.
Not sure the files open in your software? Get the cube free: the same six formats, for your email address, used only to send them (privacy).
Questions before you buy? Email us.
Zircon: optical properties and the top ten cuts · The DG-Octagonal Kite: specifications, model and files